A Different Kind of Striped Uniform

by James Vlietstra

February 15, 2023

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I recently was talking with some me friends of mine. We got onto the subject of who some of the worst Yankees were. Not talking about on field play. Rather, someone that turned out to just be a bad guy.

So I scoured through some news stories and picked some of the worst offenses committed by former players.

Brien Taylor was the 1991 first overall draft selection. That’s right, the Yankees were once the worst team in the league. Taylor never actually made it to the Yankees after his career stalled. After his playing days were over, he was convicted of cocaine trafficking and was sentenced to 50 months in prison.

Raul Mondesi was former 30/30 player that was known for his arm in right field. Upon his retirement, he took up politics is his native Dominican Republic. He was mayor when Tropical Storm Noel ravaged the area. He was charged with embezzlement and corruption for mismanagement of humanitarian aid and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Estevan Loaiza had a 14 year Major League career. After his retirement, he was arrested with 20 kilos of cocaine. He served three years in prison and then was deported back to Mexico.

Mel Hall was known for bullying a young Bernie Williams before the Yankees jettisoned him off the team. Now he’s known for a much darker reason. He was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. His victim was 12 and he’s now serving a 45 year sentence.

John Wetteland was the Yankees closer prior to Mariano Rivera. For his role, he earned the 1996 World Series MVP award. In 2019, he was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. Actually it was a 4 year old family member. The case went to trial but the jury deadlocked and it was declared a mistrial. The case hasn’t been retried yet.

Chad Curtis won two World Series with the Yankees in the late 90s. Upon his retirement he was working at a high school. He was served seven years in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting students at the school.

Sergio Mitre was a member of the 2009 championship team. He was charged with statutory rape and femicide in the murder of a 22 month old baby. He’s been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Each of these former players became heinous criminals after their time in pinstripes came to an end.